Debiasing Decision Makers Through Knowledge Management

Abstract

The need to improve decision making is a longstanding concern in decision support research. As the accelerated technological development and fierce competition coming from global sources are becoming more apparent in the new 21st century, enhanced decision-making capabilities are required more than ever before to enable organisations to meet the new challenges. Decision making can be viewed as a dynamic and iterative process comprising: (1) identification phase, which involves decision problem recognition and diagnosis activities; (2) development phase, which concerns search and design activities; and (3) selection phase, which comprises screening, evaluation, and authorisation activities (Mintzberg et al., 1976). The quality of the subsequent decisions will depend on the nature of the preceding diagnostic, design, and selection activities.

Key Terms in this Chapter

Prescriptive Effort: Intended to indicate a preferred choice.

Decision Research Usefulness: Fosters improved decision aid that serve decider’s interests.

Practice-Driven Research: Designed to advance practical decision-aiding.

Personal Decision Analysis (PDA): Prescriptive decision aid based on maximizing average personal utility (“subjective expected utility”).

Science-Driven Research: Designed to advance pure science.